I have heard about 75 to 90 days. Kelly Slocum would probably know the incubation period better than me.

I think under ideal circumstances it can be quite short, a month or two. But that's ideal. In my case, I started seeing a lot of cocoons in my rubbermaid bin after about 3-4 months, and didn't start seeing babies for at least about 6 months. So you might get pretty anxious waiting in the meantime!

Thanks Mathieu and Christina. I have moved the adult worms into a smaller bin - a sort of "honeymoon suite" - to improve their chances of meeting a suitable mate :)
Hopefully that will make the breeding process go faster.

I have lost all my adult worms in the "honeymoon" bin. They departed this world without leaving any cocoons. However, the juveniles I moved into the new bins in mid March have still not shown any sign of being adults. None of them have clitellum. I do not think I've lost many, 'cos I hand counted all of them and the number I have is almost the same as the number of juveniles I had when I moved them to the new bin. Surely after 100 days SOME would be adults? Help!

Here is a link to HappyDRanch's information about redworms , including reproduction rates.

Here is a link that might be useful: HappyDRanch

Just be patient. It may take roughly 6 to 8 weeks to get the juveniles to mature enough for reproduction. In my expience, juveniles and cocoons are the best way to re-seed a bin because they're more adaptable to new environments. Adults always die off in waves when something changes in the bin. I've lost quite a few binfuls of adults but the worms always have a way of coming back. Just wait it out. Good luck.

Thanks. I'll try to be patient for a few weeks more and see how things develop.

Arah, you are in Malaysia, correct? Remind me again what kind of worms you are using in your bins. Are your bins in soil contact? If I recall, you once sent me some photographs of at least one of your bins, and if I remember rightly it was a wooden box system, yes?

Let's go back to your first post in April; what conditions existed in the bin to lead you to believe overfeeding caused the loss of population? Were there noticeable foul odors? Was there a great deal of moisture? Did the bin become overly warm as a result of the feedstock beginning to thermally compost? "Overfeeding" is only a problem when it results in these conditions. The fact that back in April you did not mention odors, a sudden increase in moisture level or temperature suggests that "overfeeding" is not what caused your loss of worms. The fact that 10 weeks later you still see no increase in adult population or cocoons further suggests that there is something else going on in the bin than a feeding problem. The trick, of course, is seeing if we can determine what that is!

What type of bin did you transfer your worm population into? What kinds of other critters do you see in the bin? Lastly, what's the weather like in Malaysia right now? Perhpas we can use these answers as a beginning to helping determine what's inhibiting worm activity in your system.

Kelly S

Thanks for the response, Kelly. I think you mistake me for someone else. I am in Malaysia, but I did not post a photo. I don't know how to do that.
I started with a worm bin in a broken down suitcase, not a wooden box. Had lots of cocoons and new worms then. The suitcase, shall we say, was overworked? So I moved them into a 1.5x1.5x1 ft styrofoam box. Then I got hold of a 2x3x2 styrofoam box. I moved them there. That's when the problem began. I did not mention it, but the overfeeding caused the bin to get all heated up. The heat, along with the adult worms, was gone by the time I sent my first posting in this thread. The creatures in my bin are the usual suspects - soldier fly larvae, red mites, etc. Didn't seem to bother them the last time when they were reproducing normally. However, sometime in early May, I noticed the box was full of white fungi. Then when they died down, there were tons of what I believe are spores - brown hard tiny balls about the size of pinheads. They are still there. The temperature in my back porch is about 38 Celcius at noon and 24 at dawn. Humidity is rather high, though.
Hope the mystery can be solved. Thanks again.

Thought I'd let you all know. I found 33 adults in my bin yesterday (did some dumping and handcounting). At last, after about 17 weeks the babies have become adults. Even found two doing you-know-what ;). So I guess all is well. I hope to see babies soon. Thanks everyone. (BTW, the spores have lain dormant in the bin. I hope they are all dead.)

I'm at my wits' end. My 33 adult worms (which I had placed in a separate "honeymoon bin") laid some cocoons . Then, later, all except 8 died. The worms in the main bin have remain juveniles! They can't possibly be still juveniles after all these months! Since I've separated the 33 adults into the "honeymoon bin" and the cocoons I mentioned were laid in the "honeymoon bin", I know the worms in the main bin are not new juveniles. I do not think I've done anything different in terms of feeding and bedding. I used cut up cardboard for bedding and the usual rotting vege/fruits for feeding. I'm totally mystified.
Could the fact that the main bin is made of white styrofoam be a factor?

Anong28..Breathe. IMHO..Stop trying to make things happen. Set up a bin with the right environment, add your worms and sit back and observe. It will all happen,just not as fast as you might like to start. Once started properly, you and your worms will have tons of fun!

Stupid question perhaps but does the styrofoam have aeration and drainage holes?

Maggie

I skimmed this thread today, and noticed you always have exact counts of worm populations, and have relocated your vermi more than New Orleans evacuees. I don't think your worms have the time, or privacy, to become amorous. Let them be worms.

Chuckiebtoo

Thanks all. Put it that way, Chuckiebtoo, I guess I HAVE been paranoid about the worms :). Aeration is OK, Maggie, thanks. I can understand the worms not getting amorous, as Chuckiebtoo put it, but I just can't understand why they have remained juveniles. I suppose Susan is right. I just have to let it happen. (BTW, the composting part of the bin is going on fine. I get quite a bit of vermicast from the worms.)

Hi Zaman. Glad to know I'm not alone. But I'm doing it as a hobby - and to provide some vermicast for my vegetables and flowers. I have EF which I got from the agricutural department. They sold them to me for 5 sen (that's about 1.4 US cents, I think) each. I got 1,000 from them in May last year.

I thought I should provide an update on my worms (when I told my daughter I wanted to do that, her response was: "Yeah, I am sure everybody is sitting on the edge of his seat wating to hear your exciting news." Too bad her sarcasm is totally lost on me :))

About 2 months ago, I had a lot of vegetables, fruits, etc and my regular compost bin was quite full. I could not put them all in the worm bin. So, after reading the thread on BSF, I dumped them in a styroform box, poked some holes on the sides and bottom of the box, transferred a bunch of BSF larvae from the worm bins to the "BSF Bin". I was expecting a nice compost - very moist perhaps, but compost nonetheless. To my horror, after 2 weeks, I had a stinking black sewage-like mass in the BSF Box, with hundreds of BSF larvae swimming in it.
I then thought, if I mixed the sewage with dry pieces of cardboard (which I use for my worm bedding) I might put the sewage to good use. Which was I did. Smelt rotten. I pushed the existing bedding, worm and all to one side of the worm bin and dumped the bunch of sewage/cardboard mixture into the empty side. Left the lid open. My backyard stank. But my family being used to it by now did not complain. I fully expected a holocaust in the worm bin. But surprise, surprise! After two weeks, I checked and found that the smell was gone, AND my worms had all become adults (well, all, except a few). I do not know if any died in the two weeks (I stopped counting them, Chuckiebtoo) but there were fat worms in all areas of the bin.
That was three Saturdays ago. I haven't peeked since - except to make sure there were no escape or suicide attenpts).

I think the bin needs to be harvested. So I plan to spend my Sunday (tomorrow) doing that. Have already accumulated a sackful of cut up shredded paper towel cores, pizza boxes and egg cartons for bedding. I won't attempt another BSF box, though.
I hope to find some cocoons. Wish me luck.

Spent the whole of Sunday morning redoing my worm bin. I got about a pailful of vermicompost (I think the pail is a 3-gallon one).
In the course of that - ah! happpiness! - I found quite a number of new cocoons - meaning they were all still yellow in colour. I also found a pair of worms in the process of wriggling out of the band.
So, all is well in my worms' world. Thank you to everyone for your advice and comments.
When the worm population has recovered, I might try another BSF experiment. I was mulling over it and thought that perhaps something in the BSF "poo" has contributed in some way to the juveniles growing up. But that's another story - unless Kelly could shed some light.
Thanks again, everyone.

Hi there! I read that syrafoam gives off a chemical reaction.. I would use the condo bin way or use the rubermaid boxes..They are safe to use..Also they need a little bit of air.. And if you have them in heat then they may be cooking and dieing..If you look on ebay you can get the book on worms eat my garbage..
Here is a link if youa re interested in a worm condo..It works I have had mine now for three years plus...
When you see litle whites lines running around then thoses are your new babies...

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&q=CALIFORNIA+RED+WORMS+B.C.&btnG=Search&meta=
http://www.foleyfarms.com/
http://www.happydranch.com/64.html

Happy vermilating...I hope you finally get successful..I would keep them where it is about 70 to 75 degrees...

Happy Holidays

Here is a link that might be useful: REDWORMS

Hi, I am new to the post but you might be having problems with the fruit fermenting in the beds and causing gasses to be produced in the bed making the worms leave or die. I have had to stay away from any fruits directly in the beds. Also causes fruit flys and other problems. You ought to try and find a 55 gal drum and fill it with cardboard, newspaper, leaves, flowers, grass clippings, animal poop, cow, ox or whatever, and let it sit for a few weeks. Keep it damp and let it drain out drain holes in bottom. after it quits heating up dump some worms in and cover it up to keep rain out and forget about it except to water a little bit every few days. you will be amazed in a few months how many worms you will have. (let them have a little privacy)

Want to breed M E A L W O R M

Penang, M A L A Y S I A

can I hv some ?

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Contact me here.

Instagram : vivivivovovo

https://www.instagram.com/vivivivovovo/

Hi Zaman, are you still breeding the worms for VermicompostIng? I’m in Malaysia and I’d like to purchase some.